re: Does school rankings matter for elementary and middle vs high school?

In Louisiana, elementary and middle school rankings (school assessment scores) are more accurate representations of academic achievement than the high school scores, honestly.

High school scores can be easily manipulated since about 50% of it is based on graduation rates and diploma strength, which is easily manipulated by principals (just make sure everybody graduates whether they deserve it or not). The other 50% is test scores/act scores and student progress.

Middle and Elementary schools are like 75% test scores and 25% progress...no way to manipulate those.

Find out which middle schools feed into which high schools and you'll have a better idea of testing/academic performance than just looking at the rankings. Compare that to whatever else you find important...location, demographics, etc and make your decision.